Star Wars: The Force Awakens

[FishInferno]

From what I have seen, a thread has not been made for the new Star Wars movie. So here you go!

From what I can tell, it looks amazing. I just cant stop watching the trailer over. And over. And over.

So what do you all think? Will it be good? Bad?

I personally love the new X-Wing design, it looks much more sleek and agile. But the one ting I am puzzled by, is that it seems the Empire (First Order) once again has the upper hand. What happened to the New Republic?

EDIT: video embedding doesn't like me right now

[Just Jim]

It looks darker than I expected... cool.

And the effects look pretty amazing...

But watching the trailer, I have to ask: Where is Luke??????

[Alshain]

But watching the trailer, I have to ask: Where is Luke??????

Keep a sharp eye at 1:40

Edited October 24, 2015 by Alshain

[Cydonian Monk]

Luke is in almost every scene in the trailer.

I used to like Star Wars... was one of those stereotypical big fans. Then Episode 2 happened and the spell was broken. Maybe VII can help change my opinion, but I'm not optimistic. Not with Abrams involved. The trailers and the teaser look ok, mildly interesting but not terribly exciting. I'm still not planning to see it in the theaters, at least not during the first couple of weeks. I'll buy John Williams' soundtrack though.

[ZedNova]

Luke is in almost every scene in the trailer.

I used to like Star Wars... was one of those stereotypical big fans. Then Episode 2 happened and the spell was broken. Maybe VII can help change my opinion, but I'm not optimistic. Not with Abrams involved. The trailers and the teaser look ok, mildly interesting but not terribly exciting. I'm still not planning to see it in the theaters, at least not during the first couple of weeks. I'll buy John Williams' soundtrack though.

Wait.... you mean you were still a fan even after episode I? I'm impressed... you have some real optimism.

[StrandedonEarth]

Yesss..... Yessssss.... Feel the Hype surround you... Let the Hype flowwww....

Already got my tickets for the first show on the first day. Itsa going to be a madhouse. I wonder if I could profit from those tickets on stubhub?

Now I just have to convince my 18yo daughter to wear a white robe and put her hair in a double bun...

[Cydonian Monk]

Wait.... you mean you were still a fan even after episode I? I'm impressed... you have some real optimism.

I still think Episode 1 is a serviceable film. It needs the right type of edits, certain characters and lines removed, but yes, I was ok with Ep 1. It's got two great action sequences - the podrace and the final lightsaber fight - and a good narative structure, but the film was just too slow or too goofy to work. Tighten up the rest with a good editor and it'd be the best of the prequels.

We'll see about EpVII. With lots of new blood involved in the production it might be rather good. It'll take more than that to redeem the series after the Special Edition of ESB and the whole second set of films. I'm honestly more interested in Rogue One than this film - that's the type of side story that could make a good film.

[pTrevTrevs]

What made me really angry is how they didn't stick to the original Expanded Universe and instead were like "Nah, we've got a better idea, we'll make our own storyline, that's better than the stupid old one Lucas made!"

I was hoping to see the Yuzang-Vong War or maybe even that one incident where Luke turned to the Dark Side for a short time, but instead he have this "First Order" bullcrap and an astromech that looks like it was made out of a soccer ball and a cereal bowl!

I'm anticipating Episode VII with suspicion. I don't expect it to be any better than Revenge of the Sith, but I think it's going to be really hard for them to make it as bad as The Phantom Menace or Attack of the Clones​.

[Just Jim]

Keep a sharp eye at 1:40

OK... how did I miss that???? Thank you!

[FishInferno]

What made me really angry is how they didn't stick to the original Expanded Universe and instead were like "Nah, we've got a better idea, we'll make our own storyline, that's better than the stupid old one Lucas made!"

I understand why people are mad about this, I was at first, too. But I'm gonna wait until it comes out to make a true comparison

[StrandedonEarth]

What made me really angry is how they didn't stick to the original Expanded Universe and instead were like "Nah, we've got a better idea, we'll make our own storyline, that's better than the stupid old one Lucas made!"

​.

I gotta admit it would have been awesome to see Grand Admiral Thrawn

[Nibb31]

What made me really angry is how they didn't stick to the original Expanded Universe and instead were like "Nah, we've got a better idea, we'll make our own storyline, that's better than the stupid old one Lucas made!"

Lucas didn't make the Expanded Universe. It's mostly fanfic.

As for Lucas, he's a great universe-builder, an sub-average writer, but a really bad director.

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I'm still not planning to see it in the theaters, at least not during the first couple of weeks. I'll buy John Williams' soundtrack though.

I'm old enough to have seen every Star Wars movie in the theaters, so I'm not going to let my track record go.

Regarding the prequels, they were so bad that the Red Letter Media reviews are way more entertaining than the movies. I actually enjoyed the Abrams Star Treks (I really hated TNG and everything that came after), so I'm looking forward to this.

Edited October 24, 2015 by Nibb31

[Just Jim]

I'm going to wait and see. Honestly, I didn't think I would like the last Mad Max movie, and the first 15 minutes or o I didn't... but once it got going I was totally sucked in and ended up loving it...

We'll see.......

[Tex_NL]

Lucas didn't make the Expanded Universe. It's mostly fanfic.

As for Lucas, he's a great universe-builder, an sub-average writer, but a really bad director.

...

Lucas may have not written all of it but the Star Wars expanded universe is all officially licensed. It's not a collection of some fanfic.

[pTrevTrevs]

Lucas may have not written all of it but the Star Wars expanded universe is all officially licensed. It's not a collection of some fanfic.

Exactly. The Expanded Universe is... well, was (thanks, Disney) regarded as canon. There was absolutely no reason to make a whole new storyline for Star Wars except to annoy diehard Star Wars fans such as myself and many others.

No matter what happens, I still and always will consider the EU as canon and refer to it as such.

[Randox]

Exactly. The Expanded Universe is... well, was (thanks, Disney) regarded as canon. There was absolutely no reason to make a whole new storyline for Star Wars except to annoy diehard Star Wars fans such as myself and many others.

No matter what happens, I still and always will consider the EU as canon and refer to it as such.

This is what bugs me about having Abraham's as a director, but I can also see why he is doing it. On the one hand, his obliteration of pre existing material could be taken as a sign he wants to recreate Star Wars canon under his own brand, rather than contribute to the EU like everyone else. On the other hand, at this point, the EU has expanded to fill just about every gap not covered in the movies, including concurrent events that happen elsewhere at the same time, or simply between screen cuts in the actual movies. It would be impossible to make episodes 7 through 9 about Luke Skywalker without duplicating material covered in exhaustive detail in the EU, and that's a no win situation for the Star Wars fans.

Think about it. Movies cannot tell stories the same way books, comics, animated series', or games, tell stories. There were always going to have to be changes to canon for the movies to work, and no matter how you do that, you are going to .... off a sizeable number of fans. As big a middle finger as obliterating the cannon undeniably is, it does open the door for a new EU with new heroes, villains, and stories. The EU covers events over thousands of years in part because after a while, that was the only way to create new stories without tripping over itself, just like any other massive world, such as Forgotten Realms (the most well known of the D&D universes). So I guess, the way I see it, a new canon doesn't have to diminish from the old one.

I'm also in a perhaps enviable position. Episode 1 came out when I was like 10, so of course I loved it, and I was still pretty young for Episode 2, so as long as I skipped all the boring love scenes, I really liked that too. The only movie I don't watch is Episode 3, because episode 3 breaks canon (the talking/emotional droids), among other things. My point being, unlike Star Trek, I have a very broad definition of what Star Wars is, and what it feels like, so I am optimistic that the movie will feel like Star Wars to me, instead of generic sci-fi. Basically, Star Wars to me is nothing more than a universe, while Star Trek is an ideal.

[pTrevTrevs]

I guess as long as they don't mess with Boba Fett having survived falling into the Sarlaac, it won't be as upset. Fett is one of my favorite characters in Star Wars, partly because of how unkillable he is.

[Rath]

The one thing I hate. WHY ARE U STILL USING THE X-WING! FOR THE TIME THAT THIS MOVIE TAKES PLACE IN ITS LIKE BRINGING A FIRST GENERATION SABRE AGAINST A F-18! .oh, wait--the empire is still using tie-fighters. That's like bringing a KI-10 against a Spitfire mk5 VB/trop. Less difference in capabilities but, still.

[pTrevTrevs]

The one thing I hate. WHY ARE U STILL USING THE X-WING! FOR THE TIME THAT THIS MOVIE TAKES PLACE IN ITS LIKE BRINGING A FIRST GENERATION SABRE AGAINST A F-18! .oh, wait--the empire is still using tie-fighters. That's like bringing a KI-10 against a Spitfire mk5 VB/trop. Less difference in capabilities but, still.

Well, the X-wings have been redesigned, so one could argue that it's a newer model of X-wing. Also, I think the movie takes place twenty years after Endor, so it's not totally ridiculous for them to still use X-wings, after all, the F-18 has been in service for at least twenty years as a standard fighter.

[Rath]

I guess this is a hurricane mk11b-mk4 style change rather than a hurricane mk1-mk11b

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You know, getting convergence right on the x-wings guns must be such a pain with 4 wings, all of which move.

[Nibb31]

The one thing I hate. WHY ARE U STILL USING THE X-WING! FOR THE TIME THAT THIS MOVIE TAKES PLACE IN ITS LIKE BRINGING A FIRST GENERATION SABRE AGAINST A F-18! .oh, wait--the empire is still using tie-fighters. That's like bringing a KI-10 against a Spitfire mk5 VB/trop. Less difference in capabilities but, still.

I actually like it. The fact that they introduced new models of fighters for each movie stinked of Lucas wanting to sell new merchandising and toys. It's understandable, but it's not realistic. The Rebellion was supposed to be a semi-clandestine operation with little resources, it made little sense that they would be renewing their fleet of starfighters every two years.

[cantab]

Regarding the EU, yes it's 'canon', but it was also always clear that the movies trump the EU stuff. This is just a particularly big case of that.

And the EU was full of silly stuff *cough* Sun Crusher *cough*, maybe it's best if that can be evicted from canon.

[ko1Stein]

Well, the X-wings have been redesigned, so one could argue that it's a newer model of X-wing.

Actually, from what I saw they look eerily similar to the first draft of the X-Wing. (according to my books)

And the EU was full of silly stuff *cough* Sun Crusher *cough*, maybe it's best if that can be evicted from canon.

Although I am kind of angry how they tossed the Expanded Universe out of the window, I have to admit it was ridiculous at some points. Mainly how the Emperor JUST WONT DIE.

I would have loved to see the Planet Devastators in action, though. Ridiculous? Probably, but still awesome.

[ZedNova]

The one thing I hate. WHY ARE U STILL USING THE X-WING! FOR THE TIME THAT THIS MOVIE TAKES PLACE IN ITS LIKE BRINGING A FIRST GENERATION SABRE AGAINST A F-18! .oh, wait--the empire is still using tie-fighters. That's like bringing a KI-10 against a Spitfire mk5 VB/trop. Less difference in capabilities but, still.

I think in the star wars universe, they've gotten to a point where technological advancement has slowed down to the point where you don't see alot of innovation in ship design. Why change something that works?(even if it's a 100 year old design)

Also, in star wars it's never really been about the advanced technology, it's always been about the characters and the story. The same story could be told within a single solar system with far less advanced tech and it would probably still be great.

[CptRichardson]

Exactly. The Expanded Universe is... well, was (thanks, Disney) regarded as canon. There was absolutely no reason to make a whole new storyline for Star Wars except to annoy diehard Star Wars fans such as myself and many others.

No matter what happens, I still and always will consider the EU as canon and refer to it as such.

Sure there is.

"This is all an incoherent mess that's all over the place and repeats itself incessantly. Let's data-mine it for the points that work well and then trim it down and clean it up so that we have the best foundation going forward."

The old EU was not some masterpiece of storytelling. Only some parts of it managed to rise above the abyssal-low bar set by the PT, and from everything seen they're taking all the good ideas from it and repackaging and reconstructing them to be actually good and thematically consistent.

The one thing I hate. WHY ARE U STILL USING THE X-WING! FOR THE TIME THAT THIS MOVIE TAKES PLACE IN ITS LIKE BRINGING A FIRST GENERATION SABRE AGAINST A F-18! .oh, wait--the empire is still using tie-fighters. That's like bringing a KI-10 against a Spitfire mk5 VB/trop. Less difference in capabilities but, still.

Think the difference between an F-18-A, and an F/A-18-E (or F), a vastly improved 'type' of the original craft that is so changed that only the basic outline is the same, and that is functionally a completely new design once you get past basic appearances.